


Apple of My Eye || Drarry

by just_a_goose_that_ships_drarry



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Amortentia, Apples, Boys Kissing, Butterbeer (Harry Potter), Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Fluff, Drapple (Harry Potter), Eventual Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, F/F, F/M, Firewhiskey (Harry Potter), First Kiss, Fluff, Golden Snitches (Harry Potter), Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Library, Jealousy, Kissing, Love, Lust, M/M, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Harry Potter, POV Hermione Granger, POV Original Female Character, POV Pansy Parkinson, Quidditch, Seekers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23840929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_a_goose_that_ships_drarry/pseuds/just_a_goose_that_ships_drarry
Summary: It's their eighth year at Hogwarts, and Draco and Harry are falling hard for each other.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Original Female Character(s), Pansy Parkinson/Original Female Character(s), Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Comments: 48
Kudos: 158





	1. The Lake

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, and everyone was glad not to have too much homework. Some students like Hermione tried to study, but between the warmth of the sun and the laughter and sounds of everyone else having fun it was impossible.

Harry Potter was glad to return to Hogwarts, the place he felt safest and happiest, especially after the whole Voldemort shenanigan. 

He was walking with Ron and Hermione to a place in the shade, near enough to the Black Lake that they could feel the refreshing spray of the cool water. They were all so eager to get into the sunshine that they just grabbed a few pieces of fruit to share while watching the rippling water.

They found a nice tree and sat under it, relaxing on the cool grass. Hermione brought some books out, as nothing was better than getting lost in a book. (To her anyway.) Ron had brought some sweets that seemed to always occupy the pockets of his robes and a pocket chess set. Harry didn’t bring anything, but was holding the fruit for all of them. 

Hermione conjured a blanket to set the fruit and things on, but then quickly got immersed in her book. Used to this, Ron and Harry got out the chess set, Harry being perfectly content to just watch Ron’s miniature figures smash his to pieces. 

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Draco Malfoy was more hesitant to come back to Hogwarts, but he wanted to see his friends and he needed excellent N.E.W.T.S. for a career worthy of a Malfoy. It was also a way to escape his house, with the terrible memories of being forced into service and the Dark Lord himself sitting in his dining room haunting him.

He also wanted to feel the warm sun on his pale skin this morning, so he grabbed a green apple, like always, and set out toward the lake with Pansy. 

The sunlight felt so good, warming him from the outside in, making him feel like his worries were behind him. He was often shunned because of the mark on his forearm, and his family’s allegiance to the defeated Dark Lord. 

He didn’t so much mind it, and he often felt bad about it himself, even if he didn’t have a choice in the matter. It was just he often felt even more lonely than usual, especially with Potter teasing him less and less. 

He in fact spotted the Golden Boy in the spot where he had wanted to sit. 

“Ugh. Potty, Granger, and Weasel have taken our spot.” Pansy spat. “Let’s find somewhere else, shall we Draco? Somewhere... FAR away?” 

Harry scowled up at the pair, and Draco felt a pang in his stomach, from what he did not know. He was probably just hungry. 

He and Pansy walked over to the other side of the lake and plopped onto the soft grass. They started chatting about all kinds of things as they stared out onto the peaceful blue water. 

Draco looked down at the apple, glistening in the sunlight. So bright. So green. He took a big bite, his teeth sinking into the sweet flesh. The moment he could taste the perfection of it, he was overwhelmed by the fresh, crisp, tart amazingness. He sighed, overcome by the deliciousness of the apple.

“Umm... Draco?” Pansy asked, her eyes questioning.

Draco snapped his head up, towards Pansy but away from the apple, and suddenly everything seemed duller. The colors less vibrant, everything dimmed in comparison to that shiny green apple. He shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it. 

“Yes, Pansy?” He inquired, trying to hide the fact that he had just been caught intensely, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 gazing at a luscious green apple.

Again. 

She gave him an odd look and continued blabbering on about something he just couldn’t focus on. 

He looked across the lake at Potter, who was losing, yet again, another game of Wizards’ Chess. He thought it was strange that he kept playing, even though he kept on losing. But with every game, Ron’s grin got a little bit wider. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑚 he thought and gave a small smile. 

Then Harry reached for an apple, almost identical to his own, out of a small pile of fruit. He watched as Harry broke off a piece of the apple and HOLY MERLIN.

He didn’t know quite what it was, but as he watched Harry bite into the crisp apple, everything seemed to go in slow motion. 

He could practically hear the pleasant crunch. Smell the heavenly aroma. See the colors erupt in his head whenever he ate one. Taste the sweet, tart juice. Feel the apple between his teeth as he chewed. 

And MERLIN. It. Was. HO- No. No no no no no. He was not just about to say hot. He must just still be hungry. He did not feel that way about fudging ‘Saint Potter.’ No way.

“...do you?” Pansy asked, and Draco sensed he should have been listening for a while now. He took a guess. 

“Umm...yes?” 

“REALLY!? I fricken knew it! You’ve been ‘complaining’ about perfect ’Saint Potter’ for years!” 

“Wai...what? Potter? What’s he got to do with anything?” 

Pansy groaned and said exasperatedly, “You didn’t hear anything I just said. Did you.” 

He gave her an apologetic look and said, “Sorry, I must have zoned out. What was the question?”

“Well I just caught you staring at Potter, and I asked if you liked him.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Me?! What!? Potter!? Noooo... Never.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” 

In a hurry to change the subject, Draco asked, “So. Um. What’s your favorite magical creature?” Pansy quirked an eyebrow but answered the question, and they had an easy conversation once again. Draco let out a sigh of relief.

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“Ay mate! Why are you eating the green one?” Ron asked, gesturing at the apple in Harry’s hand. “I thought you preferred the red.”

“Oh, he just— I mean... THEY just looked good today.” Harry said with a tremendous blush. He was NOT just about to say DRACO looked really good eating one today. Absolutely not. No way no how.

“Alrighty then.” Ron chuckled.

Harry blushed deeper and looked back down at the apple, embarrassed by just the thought of if he said that out loud. He took another bite.

It was sourer than he would have liked, but something about the tartness reminded him of Draco. What. Eww. He chucked the apple into the lake, only for it to be snatched up by a giant slimy tentacle. 

What was he thinking!? He must just be a little jumbled in the head after all the trauma he had endured. But he looked across the lake at Malfoy, he just couldn’t help it, and was surprised to find his silver eyes staring back at his emerald ones.

Draco quickly looked away and so did Harry. But Harry couldn’t help thinking that Draco had really had a glow up since last time he saw him. 

Unburdened by all that was being forced upon him, his sharp features were more relaxed, his face peaceful as he stared out at the water.

Ugh! He was disgusted at himself! What was he thinking? He didn’t think he was gay, but the more that he thought about it, the more it made sense. 

He and Ginny were really close, but they both had admitted that they loved each other more like siblings. And they were okay with that.

But Malfoy could never like him back. Malfoy HATED Harry! And Harry hated Malfoy! He had done so much to show that! He stalked him endlessly on the map, he had house elves just follow him around, he was just suspicious! With good reason! He hated Malfoy. Or at least he thought he did...

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Draco was thinking similar thoughts, how this was the first time he had really seen Potter decently groomed since sixth year!

He had gotten very slightly taller, and more muscled, his hair as crazy as ever, but it was clean. His emerald eyes were as vibrant as ever, and for the split second their eyes had met, the intensity of them had burned.

But Potter could never like him back. They hated each other! Always had! Draco had gone to such lengths just to display his hatred! He climbed a tree, he complained about how terribly perfect he was constantly, he spent hours making pins with Potter's face on them, he made snide remarks in the corridors every chance he got-

Oh. OH! Oh no. 

Ugh. He had been falling for ages. Gosh dangit. He asked Pansy if they could go inside.

“But the day is so gorgeous!” Pansy whined.

“I have to do an essay for Flitwick.” 

“Ugh. Fine.” Pansy gave him a nasty look but stood up and started heading towards the castle.

He did have an essay, but really he just couldn’t STAND looking at Potter for one more second.


	2. Potions Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting pretty cRaZy... lets just say we see some characteristic spiraling smoke...

It was Monday morning in the Great Hall, and the trio was tired and groggy. 

“Double potions first thing in the morning!” Ron exclaimed, and shoved in a large bite of scrambled eggs. “Thish. Ish.” He swallowed. “Bloody ridiculous! At least Slughorn’s not as bad as... oh.”

Harry flinched. “Yah, Slughorn isn’t as verbally abusive, but with...” he didn’t want to think about it. 

“Yah, sorry Harry. But still...”

Ron and Harry looked down at their plates, but were startled out of their daze when Hermione exclaimed, “Oh no! Class starts in two minutes!”

They shoveled a few more bites in and gathered their things, jogging to the dungeons. 

They got there just in time and slid into seats near the back. 

Professor Slughorn wasn’t very happy with Harry when he found out why his incredible talent at potions had just vanished, but had took pity on Harry and his hardships and let it slide, and they maintained a good relationship, but Harry was no longer star of the class.

“Today we will be going over Amortentia again, but this time actually brewing it. I will give everyone partners, and you shall set to work brewing it. Same gendered partners and every house with another! To discourage actually drinking the potion you know... Oh yes! PLEASE do not drink it! Very important, very important yes... I don’t want to have students becoming utterly obsessed willy nilly now do I!” Slughorn chuckled.

“Since we cannot actually drink the potion, you will just be carefully cataloging the color and the things you smell. In case any of you forgot, it should smell like the things you love most, or what you are most attracted to.”

“Alright now, partners. Yes... Granger with Parkinson, Weasley with Zabini, Mr Malfoy with Harry...” he paired Ernie with a Ravenclaw, and rattled off a few more names. “Get to work!” 

Harry’s eyes swept the class, looking around for Draco reluctantly, but was startled by a drawl behind him. 

“Will this table be fine, Potter?” Draco said. 

“Um, sure?” Harry responded.

“If you would grab the ingredients Potter, I’ll make the potion.” 

Harry was slightly surprised by the unusual pleasantness in his tone, but he was in no way mad about it, so he nodded and headed towards the shelves.

He gathered a small bottle of powdered moonstone and pearl dust, a sprig of peppermint, and a handful of Ashwinder eggs, and made his way back to Malfoy.

He set them on the table and asked, “Is there anything else I’m forgetting?”

Draco looked up from his potion book, and glanced at the ingredients Harry had brought over.

“Yes. You have forgotten the rose thorns and petals.” He said, his mercury eyes staring into Harry’s.

He got distracted in their depths for just a second, but snapped out of it and managed to get out, “Oh. Sorry. I’ll get those now.” 

He quickly swiveled around but caught a glimpse of Draco’s eyes narrowing slightly with suspicion. 

He practically ran back towards the shelves, embarrassed by himself. What was he thinking!? Apologizing to Malfoy? Ugh. He wished he could facepalm without being too obvious. He grabbed a few rose petals and stems and headed back toward the table.

As he was setting them down, he pricked himself on one of the thorns, deep ruby blood oozing out of the tip of his finger. “Ah!” He exclaimed, wiping the blood on his robes. 

“Are you alright?” Draco asked, and flinched. “I mean... stop being such a clumsy git! I don’t want your blood messing up our potion.” But he flinched again, the insult sounding forced even to Harry.

“Err-yah. I’m fine I guess?” Harry said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

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Draco cursed under his breath. He was such an idiot! How could he let that slip! 

“Wonderful 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟.” He said with a sneer. “Aren’t we all just so GLAD that the chosen one is 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒.“ He said sarcastically, though it pained him to do so.

Harry glared at him, and started chopping ingredients aggressively.

Draco got lost in the making of the complex potion, a bead of sweat on his forehead as he added meticulous amounts of powder. He stirred in a complicated pattern, and smiled when the potion got shinier.

“Can you hand me three and a half rose petals?” He asked, glad he refrained from using ‘please’. 

Draco watched as Harry broke the petals in fourths (to release their aroma and properly infuse the potion) and held out his hand for them. 

Two of Harry’s fingers brushed Draco’s palm as Harry set the petals in his hand. 

Little sparks of electricity tingled where they had touched, and he flushed. He looked up at Harry to find that he was also blushing.

He averted his eyes and sprinkled the petals in. “Can you put the peppermint in while I stir? He asked, and started stirring counter-clockwise. 

Harry dropped the pieces of peppermint in and the potion turned a pleasant shade of pink. 

“Now the last ingredient, pearl dust.” He sprinkled it in, and gave a final clockwise stir, and let out a relieved sigh and a huge grin as the potion started giving off spiraling light-colored smoke. 

He glanced up at Harry, who was smiling too. He looked around the room, but it seemed like they were the only ones with spiraled smoke coming out of their cauldron.

Then Hermione and Pansy got it, and a while later a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw pair. 

Professor Slughorn went around helping the students who didn’t quite get it, and eventually the whole room was tinged with light smoke. 

Slughorn clapped and said, “Now document the appearance of your potions, and everything you smell!”

It was pale pink, with a mother-of-pearl sheen. It was just as it was supposed to be, thanks to him, and actually quite beautiful. His quill worked fast to scribble down the appearance, because frankly he just couldn't wait to smell it.

Draco bent down and sniffed the potion, and was overwhelmed by the AMAZING aroma. It was so good smelling! He tried to decipher the individual scents.

There was a distinct smell of green apples, but underneath that was vanilla, fresh laundry, and... a (cucumber?) bath product of some kind, broomsticks, something slightly musky, and something sweet, maybe treacle. 

He looked at Harry, and blushed, the color blossoming all across his face and down his neck. 

𝑁𝑜 𝑛𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑜𝑜! he thought. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔! He blushed deeper and scribbled down the smells.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Harry bent down and took a whiff of the potion at Slughorn’s words.

He smelled treacle tart and broomstick polish like before, but the undertones were now much more pronounced. Green apple mixed with something waxy, freshly laundered robes, hair gel?, something dark and woody, and maybe... vanilla? He was trying to figure out why those smells were now stronger to him, and what they were, when he looked up at Draco. 

Holy Merlin. Oh gosh. Oh no. No no no. His cheeks ignited, and he glanced at Draco, who was also flushed. 

𝐻𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙, 𝑃𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒. Harry thought. For why else could he be blushing. He blushed deeper and hated himself for it.

He looked around the room, and at Ron and Hermione, who had caught each other’s eye, and were blushing furiously. 

He scribbled down the scents, and scooped up some of the potion into a bottle and labeled it, as directed. He brought up the vial to Slughorn’s desk and by the time he came back Malfoy had vanished the rest of the potion.

Harry was glad he could no longer smell the intoxicating aroma, and was even more relieved when the bell rang.

He dashed out of there as fast as his legs could carry him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like this one? Please tell me any suggestions!


	3. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry are confronted by their friends.

That evening, Draco skipped dinner, unable to look at Potter after what had happened in potions today. 

His stomach growling angrily, he headed down to the dungeons, murmuring the password and slipping inside the Slytherin common room. 

He headed up towards his dormitory, only bothering to kick off one shoe before slumping on the bed. He groaned, and covered his eyes with his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. He heard a soft knock at the door. 

“Draco?” A feminine voice asked—Pansy. “I’m worried about you, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine Pansy. Leave me alone.”

He heard a humph and a second later the door was open, Pansy storming inside.

“What is WRONG with you?!” She shouted. “I haven’t heard a single word from you since potions! And then you just don’t come to dinner? You’re a spaghetti noodle as it is! You’re going to starve!”

He chuckled. “I'm FINE Pansy. I just needed some time to think.” 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐻𝐴𝑅𝑅𝑌... 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟--

“Snap OUT of it!” Yelled Pansy. She took a deep breath, and sat down on the bed. “Draco, please tell me what it is. I’m worried! Can we just talk it out? Please Draco?” She made sad puppy dog eyes and an exaggerated pouted lip. 

He rolled his eyes at her. “Fine.” He said, but didn’t continue.

Pansy got this goofy grin on her face and prodded, “Is it a giirrlll!?” She poked him in the side and giggled.

He shot her a yeah-sure-it’s-a-girl-Pansy-have-you-even-met-me look and rolled his eyes again.

“Ohh! A guy!” She exclaimed.

He didn’t respond but the blush and small smile told Pansy what she needed to know. 

“Who is it! Do I know him? Spill Draco the suspense is killing me!” She said, turning on to her stomach and facing Draco, her legs doing the stereotypical gossip-girl swing, her chin resting on her fists.

He laughed. He sighed. He looked up into those eyes, those kind eyes, those eyes filled with actual interest and excitement, the eyes of a girl who had stayed friends with him through everything. He broke down.

“It’s Potter, Pansy! I can’t stand it, his stupidly perfect glasses, his annoying unruly hair that I just want to run my hands through, everything! And then on top of all that, I smelled him Amortentia today! Ugh Pansy, you know what that means!” He looked down and ran his hands through his hair, groaning.

“Oh Draco, you’ve fallen for him. Hard.” She said, a playful smile tugging at her lips. 

He scowled at her, and went back to looking at his knees. 

She gave him a giant, giddy grin and said, “Well go for it! Did you happen to see what he what he smelled in the potion? That way we’ll know how to attract him... or who to eliminate.” She said, a huge mischievous grin consuming her features.

“I couldn’t see.” Draco said. “He blushed when we made eye contact after we smelled it, but I don’t know what that means exactly, maybe there’s someone—“

Pansy shrieked. “Aaahhh!!! Draco! He smelled YOU! He likes you back!!!”

“You think so?” Draco asked sheepishly, not daring to hope. 

“Definitely.”

He smiled stupidly, but then looked concerned again. 

Seeing his expression, she said, “Well go get him! I’ll be your wing-woman, two steps behind you, here if you need me.” 

His face broke into a relieved smile. “Thanks Pansy. I’m glad I told you. But maybe not two steps behind...”

They fell back into the bed, laughing their heads off.

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Harry did go to dinner that evening, but only after Ron quite literally dragged him there. 

He was quite relieved to see that Draco was not there, and when the quite obvious expression crossed his face.

“What’s wrong mate?” Ron asked.

“Yes Harry, you’ve been acting strange lately. What’s up?” Hermione said with concern in her eyes. 

“Oh it’s nothing.” He said, trying to keep his voice steady but unable to meet their eyes. He looked down at his plate and shoveled in a bite of mashed potatoes that was much too large so he wouldn’t have to talk anymore.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and glared at him suspiciously. “You are not getting out of this Harry. You ARE telling us after dinner.” She stated sternly, stabbing a green bean with her fork. 

He looked at her, eyes pleading. “Hermioneee...” 

“Absolutely not.”

“Yeah mate.” Ron said, chuckling. “We’re dying to know who it is.”

“Wha-who? What.... no..... pffsh.... nah...”

“Sure.” Ron and Hermione said simultaneously, rolling their eyes identically. 

“Teaming up on me? You guys are the worst.” He said, not really meaning it.

They finished their dinner, Harry taking as long as humanly possible, Hermione scolding him about procrastinating and eating way too much. Ron just went with it as an excuse to eat more food.

Harry stalled in the corridors, dragging his feet, pretending to tie his shoe, using the bathroom. Eventually they got to the common room, but not for Harry’s lack of trying.

The common room was full of people playing exploding snap, laughing, and generally making a ruckus so they headed up to the boys’ dormitories. 

Harry took off his shoes slowly, taking his time with every little thing before reluctantly sitting on his bed. Ron and Hermione raised their eyebrows expectantly. 

“Who is it?” Asked Ron. “Is she pretty?” He winked.

“Really Ron? You haven’t noticed? It’s obviously a boy.” She said matter-of-factly.

His eyes widened and he gasped, “No! Really Harry? You’re straight, aren’t you?”

Harry winced and looked at him apologetically. 

“Harry...I-I just need to think for a sec.”

Harry put his head in his hands and groaned.

“I’m sorry Harry. If I’d known he’d react like that... his family is very traditional you know...”

“It’s ok Hermione. It isn’t your fault.” 

She frowned, but then got a mischievous smirk on her face. “Well who is it?” She inquired, one eyebrow high and arched.

He looked at her, the best (female) friend he’d had for so many years. The one he could always rely on. He decided to tell her.

“Well, it’s Dr-“

“DRACO!?!!! I KNEW IT!!” She shrieked. “I mean I always sort of expected, Harry, I mean you’ve been so obvious... it’s still just so hard to wrap my head around! But I’m glad you’ve realized Harry.”

“Well I’m not! It’s been driving me crazy!”

“Why is it more now than usual?” She gasped. “Harry! No! Really?”

“What?”

“Amortentia!? That’s preposterous! Absurd!” She exclaimed, incredulous.

“And it wasn’t just one sent about him, either. I smelled his chapstick, his hair gel, his robes, his cologne, HIM, what he had for breakfast... it’s ridiculous Hermione!”

She laughed maniacally. “Ooh! You have it baadd!” She said, tears coming out of her eyes as she laughed so hard she fell off the bed.

He glared at her and said, “Really, Hermione? Is this the time?”

She stopped abruptly at his words and icy glare, coughed, wiped away her tears, and sat back up on the bed.

“What are you going to to about it, Harry?” She asked, her chocolate eyes soft and caring.

“I have no idea-“

Then both of their eyes flickered to the doorknob that was slowly turning, them back at each other.

“Sorry Harry. I just had to think it through. I support you in every way and I’m sure my family will too.” Ron said with a shy smile.

Harry grinned at him, visibly relaxing, and pulled Ron into a hug. “Thanks Ron. That means a lot.” He said, glad that Ron was still here for him.

“Well who is it? I couldn’t really hear through the door.” Ron asked.

Harry blushed and didn’t say anything, afraid of how Ron would react.

Hermione looked from him to Ron, and studied Ron’s face. She found it to be friendly and accepting, so she asked, “Can I tell him, Harry?”

He sighed, resigned, and gave her a slow nod.

“It’s Draco Malfoy!” She squeaked excitedly, her whole face conspiratorial and giddy. 

“WHAT! No!” Ron said, incredulous. Then his face turned quizzical. “But now that I think about it... how long have you liked him Harry?”

“Ppfffsshhhhh... not that long... hahaha...” Harry said sheepishly, unable to look either of them in the eye.

“Harry. You literally watched him for hours into the night on the map.” Ron said, and Hermione nodded.

“Yes Harry, I think subconsciously we all kind of already knew.” Hermione said with a knowing smile.

Harry half-heartedly tried to deny it, “I was suspicious! He did end up bringing Death Eaters in the castle!” But the attempt was feeble.

“You know, Harry, I haven’t seen Draco bully a single student this year. He’s changed. And before that, I think that all that was just what his dad forced upon him, and what he had grown up being told was okay.” Ron glanced at her, hesitated, but then nodded.

Draco did seem different. He seemed nicer. Like the meanness was an obvious mask. Harry smiled.

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That night, they both went to sleep dreaming about each other.


	4. The Upcoming Match

When they had come back to Hogwarts, both Harry and Draco had stayed on their house teams, quidditch being an escape from all of the craziness. But Harry couldn’t deal with all of the pressure of choosing new members and everything, so he gave the position of captain to Ginny. She loved it, and he was glad not to have all of that responsibility. And she was a great captain.

They were training for the first match of the season, and unluckily this time it was with Slytherin. 

Harry did not want to play against Malfoy, and he certainly did not want to accidentally get lost in those eyes... those liquid silver, shining eyes, those eyes with so much depth, those eyes that had hints of blue and green when in direct sunlight... he quite literally smacked himself in the face.

This was exactly the problem! If he got distracted, he would lose the snitch to Malfoy and he would never hear the end of it! Get distracted by his whole body really... his paper white skin, his pale blond hair—perfectly styled yet somehow still so soft looking, his tall, lean figure, the hardened abs he could see when his shirt was pulled against him by the wind while racing by on a broom, the competitiveness in his eyes, his 𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒... 

He hit his head on the table, hard. The loud noise sent heads snapping in his direction, looking at him quizzically. 

“Are you alright, Harry?” Hermione asked, concerned.

Ron turned around in his chair to face Harry and said, “Is it the homework? This essay on the effects of knotwood is so frustrating! I feel ya mate.”

“Haha yeah... the homework...” He said, wincing and rubbing his head where he had hit it on the desk, and glancing at Hermione.

She gave him a knowing look. “Please, let me help you with your... essay.” She winked. 

“I am just to stressed out about our upcoming 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ, I 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 on the ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘.“ He said with a huge wink, his face contorting with the effort as he found out that he could not, in fact, wink. Hermione groaned and put her face in her hands. Ron asked, “You good mate?” 

Oops. He’d been just a tad too obvious.

“Yep! Just fine. Totally fine. One hundred percent a-okay.”

Ron looked at him like he had gone mad, but went back to looking at his textbook.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. “Just focus on the game Harry. Just only look at the snitch, and you’ll be fine.” But the barely suppressed giggle and the look that said you-just-can’t-keep-your-eyes-off-him-can-you told him that Hermione was indeed making fun of him.

He scowled at her, but she ignored him and said, “Yes good luck on the game Ron! I’m sure you’ll do great.”

He looked up and smiled at her. “Thanks Mione!”

Harry sure hoped he could focus on the match, keep his eyes on the snitch, away from the entrancing entity that was Draco Malfoy.

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Pansy was midway through teaching Draco a hand-clapping game, when he gasped tremendously.

“Crap Pansy! We have a quidditch game tomorrow! Against the GRYIFFINDORS!”

“Ahh!” Pansy said with a smirk. “You just can’t stand the THOUGHT of competing against your 𝑏𝑜𝑦𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑!” She said, singing the last word.

“He is NOT my boyfriend! And I have no problem competing against him! I just have a problem with losing!”

“Getting distracted by his—ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑, 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦, ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘... “ I mean—him.” 

She raised a dark eyebrow and snickered. 

“Oh lay off it will you.” Draco said, glaring coldly, annoyed.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Harry was dreading going to breakfast, but his stomach was growling, and he needed fuel if he was going to beat Malfoy.

He got dressed sluggishly, slumping down to the common room. 

“You good Harry?” Ron asked, as Harry was usually practically skipping to get the delicious breakfast that the house elves prepared, but this morning he was acting like he would rather not go at all, which he did not.

“Yeah. Fine.” He grimaced, but then plastered on a cheery smile. “Let’s go eat some pancakes!”

Ron looked concerned for just a second, but then grinned. 

Then Hermione dashed down from her dormitory, and said, “Sorry, just doing some last-minute studying for today’s transfiguration exam!”

“Transfiguration exam!?” Harry and Ron simultaneously exclaimed.

“You guys forgot?!” Hermione asked, incredulous.

They both looked embarrassed and ashamed, but quickly snapped out of it. This happened often. Oh well. 

“Race ya to the Great Hall!” Ron shouted.

“Last one there’s a pile of dragon dung!” Harry called back, racing after him.

“You are EIGHTEEN!! She yelled at them, but ran to catch up. 

They stopped running when they got to the Hall, Hermione chiding them as they headed to their seats at the Gryffindor table.

“You two really need to grow up! Eighteen years old, full adults, you would have thought the racing to breakfast would have been long past, but noooo...”

They ignored her scolding, as usual, and began to pile their plates high with food.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Draco did NOT want to go to breakfast that morning, and put up quite the fight. But Pansy decided to be his 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, and was forcing him to go down.

“You need your strength!” Pansy said. “For your 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒 against your 𝑏𝑜𝑦-𝑦-𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑!“ She poked him in the side playfully, and reached out to pinch his check, when he smacked her hand away, hard.

“Ow!” She shrieked, rubbing her hand.

“That was TOO. FAR.” He scowled at her. “Stop teasing me about Potter. It’s hard enough already...”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. But you do need to go down to breakfast.”

He sighed, and yielded. “Fine, 𝑀𝑜𝑚.” He said sarcastically. Rolling his eyes at her.

“Hey! Do not call me that. I just care about you!” 

They started heading up to the Great Hall, Draco dreading seeing Harry after yesterday, but also kind of... looking forward to it. Heat rose into his pale cheeks, turning his face tomato red.

Pansy caught him blushing and smirked, but let it slide.

They got to the grand entrance, and zipped to the Slytherin house table, eyes down. 

Draco started to grab an apple, as usual, but Pansy said sternly, “You cannot just have an apple for breakfast every morning! You’re going to faint and fall off your broom from lack of protein!”

“I, unlike Potter, do not faint at every slight mishap. Malfoys don’t faint-I mean-I don’t faint. It’s unbecoming of someone like me.”

“Someone like you, what’s that supposed to mean?” She said, raising an eyebrow. “And besides, even if you ‘don’t faint’, you still need to eat something substantial!”

He rolled his eyes at her but put the apple on a plate, grabbed a bowl, scooped it full of porridge, cast a spell to cut the apple into thin slices, and placed them on the porridge. 

“Happy?” He said, but she was still looking at him disapprovingly, with pursed lips and hands on her hips. 

He grabbed the stick out of the honey pot and dripped a golden swirl of honey on top of the apples, and sprinkled a dash of cinnamon.

She tapped her foot impatiently.

He groaned and grabbed two sausages, trying to spell away the grease, and poured himself a glass of orange juice. 

She smiled brightly and sat down. He stuck his spoon into the porridge, and put it in his mouth reluctantly, only to find that it was actually quite delicious. He scarfed up the entire bowl.

That’s when he looked across the Hall, towards the Gryffindor table, to see the Golden Trio piling their plates full of breakfast. He couldn’t look away as Harry precariously put more and more food, pancakes, hash browns, a slice of toast, several strips of bacon, and a sunny side up egg.

He looked to Harry’s right to see that Ron had EVEN MORE food, everything Harry had, but also French toast doused in maple syrup, a muffin that he spread with butter and marmalade, and THREE sausages! 

He also saw Hermione look at him slightly disgusted, and say something he couldn’t hear, but from Ron’s face he could tell that she was not very approving of his heaping plate. 

She had just grabbed a small scoop of hash browns, a strip of bacon, a muffin, and a handful of cherries.

He still could not stop staring as Harry ate, talked, and laughed. Harry threw his head back at something Hermione said, and Draco could hear his joyful laughs from across the Hall. It was quite adorable actually, and he smiled softly.

He looked at Pansy to find that she had a giant smirk on her face, and an arched eyebrow. 

He narrowed his eyes at her, scowling, looked at his plate, and took a bite of the sausage. Too greasy. He tried to spell away more, but it was no use. He sighed and put his fork down.

He looked back at Harry, only to find the bright green eyes staring right into his own. They maintained eye contact for a few seconds, but then blushed and hastily looked away.

Just a few minutes until they would be on brooms, competing to be the first to grasp a tiny golden ball.


	5. The Quidditch Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Gryffindor match against Slytherin, what will happen between the opposing seekers?

Harry finished the last of his enormous breakfast, and headed down to the pitch with Ron, Ginny, and Dean.

Ginny had picked pretty much the same team as his sixth year, Demelza Robins and Ginny as chasers, Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote as beaters, Ron as keeper, and himself as seeker. But they needed one more chaser since Katie had left. Dean had been a substitute before, and he also came back for eighth year, so he seemed like the obvious choice.

He stomped into the changing rooms and started to pull on his quidditch robes. He dressed rather clumsily, his mind elsewhere...

Ginny was giving them all a pep talk, as usual, and she was much better at it than Harry ever was.

But Harry couldn’t pay attention, his mind repeating over and over 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ... 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑--𝑛𝑜 𝑛𝑜 𝑛𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ...

He followed the team out to the center of the pitch distractedly, getting in position.

“Captains shake hands.” Madam Hooch boomed. “Mount your brooms. On my whistle, three... two... one...” her whistle sounded, loud and clear.

Harry kicked off from the ground forcefully, the soft ground giving slightly under his shoes.

He soared up and up, the fast wind making his eyes and pushing his glasses to his face.

He was far above everyone now, eyes scanning the stadium for a tiny golden sparkle.

He heard a familiar, but out of context, voice boom out from the commentator’s podium. Seamus!

“Robins has the quaffle, passes it to Dean, who passes it to Ginny and she’s trying to score, but the Slytherin keeper seems on top of it... OH! That was just a feint! She threw it to the hoop on the far right last minute! 10/0, Gryffindor!

Harry circled the pitch, specifically avoiding looking at the opposing seeker.

“Oh no! A Slytherin chaser has the quaffle, getting awful close to the goal posts, but a well-aimed bludger from Peakes causes him to drop it!”

“It’s falling, falling into the strong arms of Dean Thomas, looking quite good today if I do say so mysel-” Seamus, realizing what he just said, flushed brick red and coughed. McGonagall gave him a stern look, but with a quirked eyebrow and a small smirk.

Dean caught Seamus’ eye and winked, and Seamus went an even deeper red, his ears and neck joining in the flush of blood. The entire stadium erupted in snickers.

He coughed again. “I mean—Dean has the quaffle, and he is flying back to the Slytherin posts...”

Harry tuned the commentary out with a chuckle. He scanned the field. He saw a glint of gold! But it’s all the way at the other end of the pitch. And about three feet in front of it, was Malfoy.

Harry swore, if he went after it now, Draco would see and get to it first. He was about to turn around and see it! Crap! He had to think fast.

He gasped exaggeratedly, and dived in the opposite direction. Malfoy saw and sped after him. He pulled out of it, and smirked when he saw that the snitch has disappeared again.

He caught Draco’s eye and smiled tauntingly, forgetting he was not supposed to look into those deep pools of silver.

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, and flew away from him. Harry zoomed up high again, facing the Gryffindor goal posts.

Ron saved a goal spectacularly, and Harry cheered for him, almost falling off his broom because he raised both arms in the air and whooped.

Draco caught his eye and mouthed, “Weasley is our king” and smiled, but then seemed to catch himself and sped upward.

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Draco swore and flew higher and higher, blushing furiously. Ugh! How could he have let that slip so drastically! Number one he was nice to Harry, number two he was nice to Ron—eww, number three he meant the stupid Gryffindor version, which just, ugh.

He took a few calming breaths but his heart started to race again when he thought about Harry’s hair in the wind... his eyes determinedly fixed on the game... his taunting smile...

He urged his broom back closer to the pitch, and started looking around for the snitch.

“Demelza with the quaffle, but oh no! The keeper blocks it!”

Draco decided to tune the commentary out.

There it was! A glint of gold! Draco raced toward it, as fast as he could go, hunched close to his broom, the wind messing up his hair horribly.

He looked to his left and to his great dismay, Potter was also racing toward it.

They got closer and closer, arms outstretched, and they crashed into each other, neck and neck as they got ever closer, arms side by side reaching out, neither one was going to get there first—

But then Harry said “Hey, Draco...” winked, and bit his bottom lip so seductively that Draco choked, dropped his hand, and stopped racing towards the snitch.

Harry caught the tiny winged ball and whooped, throwing his hands in the air. He genuinely smiled at Draco, and his shock turned into a scowl, but Harry’s joyful face was just too much and he couldn’t help but smile back.

They held each other’s eyes for a moment before they flew down to the ground, landing on the soft grass.

Draco immediately strode to the Slytherin changing room, trying to hide how flustered he was.

He could hear all of the cheering and yelling from the Gryffindors, the slapping of backs, the high-fives, the whistles and the laughter. Many of the people in other houses cheered too. He wished the Slytherins got that when they won, but alas, the unfair judgment of the Slytherin house had not ended.

It all turned to buzzing as he put his head in his hands, sighing.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

As Harry landed, he was swarmed by so many people, cheering for him, overcome by the pure mirth and euphoria of victory.

He spotted Ginny land and Luna run up to her and engulf her in a embrace that practically knocked Ginny over. They laughed happily, the joy as they looked into each other’s eyes palpable.

Harry grinned, so happy for them. Ginny seemed to enjoy being with Luna much more than she enjoyed being with him, but Harry and Ginny had shared something special nonetheless.

Hermione found Ron and hugged him too, and then they started walking towards Harry.

Harry was a bit jealous seeing all of the happy couples congratulate each other, disappointed that the person he liked could never like him back.

But he had smiled back... hadn’t he?


	6. Growing Tension

The match had ended quite quickly, so there were still a good number of classes left.

Draco and Pansy were sitting for lunch, looking over their schedules.

Transfiguration- with Potter 

Arithmancy- not with Potter, thank Salazar.

DADA- with Potter

Charms- with Potter

Frick. What was he going to do? He groaned and massaged his temples.

Pansy looked over at him, concerned. “What is it, Draco?”

“I have almost every class with Potter today! What the heck am I going to do!?”

She sniggered and said, “I did see you making eyes at each other the whole match.” She winked. “What exactly did Potter say to make you stop racing for the snitch? It had to have been quite something, cost us the whole match!”

He flushed beet red and looked down at his plate.

She raised her eyebrow but didn’t inquire further. They finished lunch, packed up their bags, and headed off towards transfiguration.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Harry, Ron and Hermione headed down to the Great Hall in a swarm of people still high off the adrenaline of the match. And there was lots of whooping and many walking with their arm wrapped around another’s shoulders.

Things finally started settling down when they got to the table and started piling food in their mouths.

Harry pulled out his schedule and groaned.

Transfiguration: with Malfoy

Herbology: not with Malfoy, thank Merlin.

DADA: with Malfoy

Charms: with Malfoy

Harry swore. Ron looked up from his plate.

“What is it, mate?”

Harry blushed and mumbled something incoherent.

Hermione looked up from her book and smiled knowingly. “Yes, I’ve checked. We have every class with Malfoy today don’t we, except Herbology.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Why don’t you just ask him out?” Ron said, only slightly and jokingly making fun of him.

“I can’t just ask him out! He obviously doesn’t like me back! And it would make things even worse between us, more of a cause for bullying.” Harry said miserably.

Hermione narrowed her eyes like she was about to object, but seemed to rethink that and looked back down at her book.

“Sorry, mate. I dunno what you’re going to do about it though.” Ron said, and went back to shoving food in his mouth.

Harry sighed, not very hungry anymore, and happened to glance up at the Slytherin table. He should really pick a seat facing away from it in the future.

He found Draco and was surprised to see his gray eyes already staring into his own. Draco’s look of not-unpleasant-really-but-something-Harry-just-could-not-place to a rather forced looking sneer. Harry looked back down at his two bites left of a sandwich, his face burning.

Hermione snapped her eyes off her book and said, “We should get to class!”

“How do you always know! It’s like you have a bloody internal clock or something!” Ron said with his mouth still half-full.

Hermione sniffed and began to gather up her books, and the boys followed suit.

They got to the Transfiguration classroom and found seats.

Harry couldn’t really focus on the lesson, instead his eyes kept straying to a certain blonde.

Often to find silver eyes already looking in his direction.

Harry looked behind him discreetly. (Not discreetly, in fact it was pretty obvious.) There was no one behind him.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Draco ran out of the classroom and towards Arithmancy as soon as the bell rang.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how HARRY was also looking at HIM. Or maybe something behind him, he didn’t care to check, unlike Potter.

Arithmancy flew past in a blur, much too fast for Draco’s liking. He hated missing material, it made it harder for him later. And he would have to face those emerald eyes again much too soon.

He hurried off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, still a necessary course, though Draco couldn’t see why those who had fought in the battle, especially Harry, needed it.

Draco found Pansy and found a seat with her in the back. Today’s class was just reading in their books and watching demonstrations.

Granger got there before Weasley and Potter, he wondered where they were. Wait, why did he care again? This was all just so confusing.

Potter and Weasley burst in about two minutes after class started, out of breath from running. They got five points taken away from Gryffindor, and found the only two seats left, right next to Draco.

Weasley took the farther away one and looked at me with disgust, but then his eyes widened a bit and he smirked at Harry and gestured slightly with his head towards Draco.

𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 Draco thought. Harry sat down, a slight blush on his cheeks.

𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 thought Draco, looking up at the chalkboard and trying to force back the slight flush on his own cheeks.

Draco took notes diligently, and read his chapters quickly, eyes flicking about the page, but Harry only took minimal notes and seemed to zone out several times while looking at his textbook.

The bell rang and while gathering their things and standing up, the boys brushed arms.

Their eyes met as tingles spread out from where they had touched. Potter sped out, and Draco could see Weasley shove him playfully and snigger.

Draco felt confused.

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Harry kept playing last class over in his mind as he headed up to the East Tower for charms.

Malfoy’s glances at Harry. His neat handwriting as he copied the board, his face in a cute focused expression.

He sat in one corner, and Draco came in a moment later and took the other, and Harry was grateful.

Ron said something and Hermione burst out laughing, joking and playfully shoving Ron, all with a huge smile on her face, but stopped abruptly and looked towards Professor Flitwick when the bell rang.

Harry couldn’t focus on this lesson either, which Hermione would probably scold him for.

He twiddled with his quill and chewed on the end, tapping it against his fingers, looking around the room.

His eyes caught on a certain Slytherin as he pulled something out of his bag. Harry squinted to better see what it was.

It looked to be a small tube of chapstick, the label bright green. He couldn’t look away as Draco swiped it across his top and bottom lip, rubbing it twice on a very small chapped spot.

Draco rubbed his lips together in a small circle. The movement seemed familiar to Harry, almost as if he had watched this occur a million times—

Harry cringed. But he couldn’t stop thinking about Draco’s lips, how 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 and 𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑝... oh my gosh. He groaned inwardly.

He half-heartedly tried to pay attention, taking a few notes and listening to most of what Flitwick said.

Harry was grateful when the bell rang and it was time for dinner, he was starved. He, Ron, and Hermione made their way to the Great Hall.

They found their usual seats, and Harry scolded himself when he found himself once again facing the Slytherin table, but it would be weird to switch now.

Harry ate his food solemnly, hardly noticing the taste. Everyone was so happy! Hermione laughing with Ron, Dean and Seamus doing a bit for two other Gryffindors, Luna smiling at Ginny from the Ravenclaw table, Pansy giggling at something Draco said.

He wondered if they were dating. Probably. That would be just his luck, wouldn’t it.

They moved on to the deserts and Harry grabbed a treacle tart.

Ron and Hermione stood up. “Hey Harry, is it alright if we meet you in the common room? We want to stop by the library.” Hermione said.

“Sure.” Harry said, sadly thinking that he couldn’t be more alone than he already was.

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Draco and Pansy got up from the table, but Professor Vector walked up and asked Pansy if they could talk about one of her essays.

She winked and said “Go on without me, I’ll catch up.” And started talking with Professor Vector.

Draco sighed and started making his way toward the Slytherin common room when he saw someone.

It was Harry Potter. Draco didn’t want to find another route to the common room, and this was the fastest. He decided just to try to ignore Potter.

But he was going very slow, and kicking what looked to be part of a broken quill as he walked. His hands were in his pockets and he was humming softly.

Draco was getting closer and closer, because Potter was walking so slow and Draco was taller. (And very gay)

Harry hadn’t noticed him yet, and was still kicking that quill and humming, 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑎𝑟 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝐶𝑈𝑇𝐸 Draco thought. And he just couldn’t handle it for one more second.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

𝕊𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨

He slammed Harry against the wall and kissed him. It was rough and desperate, full of years of pent up feelings. Desperate to feel a response. Desperate to know that Harry liked him back.

Harry was shocked! DRACO FREAKING MALFOY was KISSING HIM! He was stunned, and just stood there, his eyes wide open in shock.

Draco stepped away and swore. Harry didn’t respond. Shit. He had been so sure Harry liked him back, but now...

Draco turned around and started walking away, scowling in disappointment.

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡! 𝑁𝑜! Harry thought. Crap. He didn’t respond. He had to show him that he liked him back! Without thinking, he ran up to Draco, swiveled him around and pulled him in by the tie.

And kissed him. Draco melted into it and started kissing back immediately. Passionately. Their hands found each other’s hair and intertwined themselves in it, deepening the kiss. Draco’s hair was impossibly soft. Harry could taste Draco, he was slightly sweet, almost like apples. Harry was SO sweet, deep and rich with an undertone of treacle.

It was so full of feeling, and sent pleasant electricity all down Harry’s spine. It was so much more than what he felt when he kissed Ginny, and much more than whatever he had with Cho. It felt so different, so, 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑. So right, like where he was supposed to be.

Draco had kissed people, but never anything like this. 𝐺𝑜𝑠ℎ nothing like this. Nothing so passionate. Nothing that filled his entire body with thrill and euphoria. It was perfect.

They pulled away, gasping for breath. Harry’s knees were weak. Their cheeks flushed, they started to head their separate ways.

Draco stopped and turned around. “Po-Harry, would you like me to walk you to your common room?”

Harry blushed and said “Sure, Ma-Draco.”

Draco walked back towards Harry and started to walk up to Gryffindor house. Harry reached for Draco’s hand and intertwined their fingers.

They smiled.


	7. Interrogations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea is spilled and outfits are picked

They arrived at the common room rather soon, too soon in Harry's opinion.

Draco coughed and said, "Erm, well, goodnight then, Harry."

"Night." Harry stammered, looking at his feet.

He mumbled the password to the Painted Lady. (𝐬𝗼𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝗼 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲) She glanced at him knowingly as he stumbled inside.

He flopped down on the couch and sighed, cheeks flushed and lips slightly bruised.

Just then, Ron and Hermione burst in through the portrait hole, giggling profusely. They spotted Harry on the couch and plopped down next to him.

They seemed to snap out of whatever mood they were in, and looked at Harry.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, scanning his face almost android-like, and zoned in on his bruised lips. She raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Harry... did you just... kiss someone?"

Harry choked, and had a tremendous coughing fit. Ron slapped him on the back, hard.

"Woah, mate, are you good?"

Hermione mumbled something under her breath that sounded a lot like, "The correct word would be 'well'."

"WOAH MATE!" Ron said, throwing the nearest object, which happened to be a rather heavy book that landed with a tremendous thud. "DID YOU KISS MALFOY!?"

Harry choked on his own saliva once again. He coughed. He looked at the ground. He did everything but look Ron in the eyes.

"OH MY GOD HARRY!" Hermione shouted. "You didn't! That's amazing!"

Ron mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like. "Couldn't be that good, I mean it was Malfoy..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and squealed. "How was it!?"

Harry blushed furiously and looked at his hands, which were practically strangling each other in his lap.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione said with a slight whine in her voice and Ron nodded vigorously.

"Erm..." Harry said, and Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well, it was..." 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠, 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡... "good, I guess."

"You guess. Sure." Ron said, chuckling.

Hermione laughed. "That's great Harry." Hermione said with a big smile. "Also we never went over the fact that he likes you back!?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess." Harry said, and shrugged.

Ron chuckled. "At least we know he won't bully you about it now." He said with a wink. "Are you two, like, dating now? Or what?" He asked.

"Oh gee... I don't know. We didn't... talk about it." Harry said, embarrassed. In truth, Harry wanted more than anything to date the beautiful blonde, but he would never say that aloud.

"Well good luck, Harry." Hermione said kindly, and smiled at Ron.

Ron coughed and seemed to be remembering something from earlier. He couldn't contain his (slightly maniacal) grin as he tried to stare at the ground, but seemed to not be able to control his eyes as they went back up to Hermione. Hermione let out a small giggle and licked her top lip, taking her time, slowly and seductively tracing it.

This made Ron's mouth drop open, staring stupidly at her, and made Harry made a terribly exaggerated gagging and retching noise, pretending to vomit.

"Come ON guys, right now?" Harry groaned.

"It's not that gross Harry." Hermione sniffed. "But we will stop." But then she winked at Ron as if to say 'for now'. Ron guffawed stupidly and giggled like a little girl.

Harry groaned again and gave them a jokingly disgusted look. But secretly, he wanted nothing more than that to be him.

And Draco.

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Draco was practically skipping down to the dungeons when Pansy caught up with him. He stopped walking so giddily at once and cleared his throat.

"What's got you so happy?" Pansy said with a smirk.

"Nothing." Draco said too quickly.

"Nothing, hmm?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

Draco blushed and twiddled his thumbs.

"Draco Malfoy, embarrassed, without a single hint of composure? What happen-OH!" She squeaked, her eyes darting to his slightly swollen lips. She giggled. She couldn't stop giggling, in fact.

Draco scowled at her, and covered his mouth with his hand. "Pansy, really? Now?"

She pulled his hand away from his mouth and her nose scrunched up, giggling louder. "Y-you—kissed—Potter!" She gasped out between bouts of laughter.

Draco swore, his eyes darting around the corridor, and was relieved to see no one there.

"Pansy!" He whisper-yelled. "Not. Here!"

"Salazar! You really did!" She wheezed, tears now spilling out of the corners of her eyes.

Draco spun around and started marching further toward their common room.

"Oh Draco, I'm sorry." She said, trying to calm her face. "But, like, oh my god! Harry Potter! You!" She burst into another fit of giggles.

Draco rolled his eyes at her and stalked off to the entrance, said the password, and dashed inside and towards the stairs to his dormitory.

Pansy hurried to catch up, meeting him on the stairs. "Oh Draco I'm sorry. I'm happy for you, I really am!" Then she got a mischievous look on her face. "How was it?"

"It was, erm... alright." Draco said, averting his eyes. It was so much more than alright. It was everything he ever could have wanted. But he did not say that out loud. He blushed.

Pansy smirked and said, "Just alright, huh." Then an idea seemed to have sparked in her head. "You know what? I'm going to go talk to them. We are all going to be great friends."

"Pansy! I don't think that's such a good idea-" But she couldn't hear him. He groaned and walked back down the stairs, sinking into a poofy dark green couch. He would rather not watch.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕧

Pansy skipped down the corridor, giddy that Draco had found his man. She very well knew that it was after curfew, but she didn't care. She started to whistle a tune of a song that was in her head, but that she couldn't quite place.

She hopped up the stairs two at a time, almost falling for the trick step but catching herself just in time.

She arrived at the portrait of the Painted Lady. She knocked on the picture and yelled, "Granger! Weasley! We need to talk!" The Painted Lady scowled at Pansy, plugging her ears and stalking into the portrait to her left.

Pansy heard whispers from inside. Eventually the portrait swung open to reveal a common room decked in appalling amounts of red and gold. She cringed almost imperceptibly, much preferring the more sophisticated and elegant green and silver decorations of the Slytherins.

Hermione and Ron stood in the opening, suspicious looks on their faces. "What do you want Pansy," Hermione snapped.

"Is Harry here?" Pansy inquired, ignoring Hermione.

"No..." Ron said, narrowing his eyes.

"Perfect!" Pansy exclaimed, and burst past them into the common room.

The prolific banners, crests, and loud colors bombarded her as she found an armchair and sat down, a slightly disgusted look crossing her face as she scanned the room.

But the fire was warm, and the chair was soft. She felt... cozy. She shook her head.

She slipped into a mock-formal voice and said, "I assume you two are aware of the happenings of this evening between our two friends?"

Ron grumbled something incoherent but rude sounding.

"They kissed." Hermione stated simply.

"Yes." Pansy said, acknowledging her with a nod. "Now I happen to know the Draco likes Harry very much, so I thought we should all hang out together! Join our friend groups! Make it easier for the couple!"

Ron snarled. "No. Way. In. Hell. would I be friends with you two!"

Hermione smacked his arm. "What were you thinking?"

"Maybe the Three Broomsticks? We could break the ice you know, loosen up over a warm cup of Butterbeer!"

"Alright. I suppose that might be nice." Hermione said. She raised an eyebrow at Ron expectantly.

He agreed reluctantly.

"Perfect! Well I'll see you three tomorrow at eight."

Before either of them could object, she turned and skipped out of the portrait hole, delighted all the way to the dungeons.

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Draco pulled out a book and read for a while, trying to take his mind off Harry. Just then Pansy burst through the passage.

"Draco!" She gasped, out of breath from running. "Guess who's going to the Three Broomsticks with the Trio tomorrow!?"

"Ugh Pansy, please do not say you!"

"Nope! Us!"

"But that's in public! Everyone will see us!"

"Well first of all only seventh and eighth years are allowed in Hogsmeade outside of I happen to know that both Honeydukes AND Zonko's are having crazy sales tomorrow! Nobody would come to the Three Broomsticks when they could get such good deals!"

Draco looked skeptical, but had to agree that Hogwarts students couldn't resist candy and joke supplies.

"Alright fine, but Ron hates me! Hermione is better but we aren't exactly friends! I was a jerk to her for years! I should have never called her that foul name. And it made Ron madder than it ever made her, he will never forgive me!"

"I doubt that! They just agreed to come! But either way, we'll have lots of time to convince them over Butterbeer." She stood up and clapped her hands. "Let's pick you out an outfit!"

"What! No! I can just wear my robes!"

"Nope! You are going to look fabulous for the your true love!"

"My true love!? What? Pansy!"

But she was already riffling through his closet. (Draco had worked very hard to be able to transfigure his trunk to a closet and back, he had to keep his clothes hanging, wrinkles are unacceptable.)

She threw shirts, ties, robes, belts, dress robes, and many things that Draco couldn't identify because they were flying onto his bed and covered by another item of clothing. It was an apparel hurricane.

"Woah Pansy! You are making a complete mess!" Draco said with a slightly bewildered scowl on his face.

She ignored him and threw another item out of the closet. She emerged from the closet, her eyes victorious and her smile maniacal. She held an emerald green button-up, a simple black woven-leather belt with a silver buckle, and a black tie with silver accents.

She draped them almost lovingly across the back of a chair. Then she opened a drawer underneath the hanging space and selected a pair of black skinny jeans.

Draco was about to protest, but he was surprised to find that he actually loved it. It was the perfect mix of put together and professional, without seeming like he was trying too hard.

A smile found its way onto his face as he said, "Thanks Pans. How are you so good at that?" He said with a chuckle.

She smirked playfully. "Maybe I should choose your outfits for all of the rest of your dates then."

He rolled his eyes at her but silently thought that that might actually be nice.

He went to sleep that evening trying to think of conversation topics, how he should act, what he should get to drink, overthinking everything.

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Harry was shaken awake that morning. Quite forcefully, Harry might add. "Wha-who-what?" Harry said, surprised to see his favorite bushy haired friend standing over him.

"Guess what we are doing this evening!" She said excitedly.

Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What?" He said, annoyed for being woke up so early.

The bed next to him squeaked. He looked over as he saw a blurry Ron hopping off his bed, which was really weird, considering that Ron was NOT a morning person. Harry felt around for his glasses on the bedside table to his left and grasped them, placing them on his face.

Hermione looked as if she was about to burst, giddy with whatever news she was about to tell him.

"Harry! We are going to the Three Broomsticks with Malfoy and Parkinson tonight at eight!!"

"What." Harry stated completely monotone. He stared at them dumbfounded. He heard an irritated groan from Neville in the bed next to Ron.

Hermione looked at Neville and brought her voice down to a whisper. "We are going out to get to know each other better! We'll have so much fun."

Harry seriously doubted that, but rolled his eyes and said, "How in the name of Merlin did you arrange that?"

"Pansy actually. She's not the absolute worst it turns out." Ron said, going over to his trunk and kneeling down by it.

"Hmm." Hermione pondered. "What shall you wear..." She went over to his trunk and started throwing stuff out. It was mostly full of wrinkled robes, extra quills, trash, and other trash.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she got to the bottom of the trunk, broken quills and spilled ink and shards of who-knows-what and unnameable slimy things.

"You really need to clean out your trunk, Harry. And you have nothing to wear! Except this gray t-shirt and old pair of jeans... now that I think about it Harry, is that all you have ever worn besides school robes?"

"Erm..." Harry said, slightly embarrassed by his mess and fashion choices. "Yeah?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, irritated. She threw everything back into the trunk except the jeans. She stared down at them in dismay, before pulling out her wand. She lightened them in patches and by the end, they were looking fashionably faded. She performed tiny abrasive spells and soon the jeans were carefully distressed.

"I am not wearing those Mione." Harry stated.

"Yes you are. Now for a sufficient top..." She said, scanning the room. Her eyes landed on Dean's empty bed and Seamus's drawn curtains. She started marching over.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Mione!" Harry said urgently.

She pulled them open and found Dean and Seamus snuggling and asleep, but thankfully still fully clothed.

"We need your help with something." She said, standing over them. Dean awoke first and gasped when he saw Hermione. "Jeez Mione what is it?"

"Does Seamus have any button up shirts?"

Dean was much too tall for his clothes to fit Harry, and while Harry's legs were longer then Seamus's, their torsos were around the same size.

Dean shook Seamus awake gently. "Hey Shay?" He whispered. "Hermione would like to borrow one of your shirts."

Seamus rubbed his eyes and yawned. He mumbled something incoherent and laid his head down on Dean's chest.

"Just search his trunk." Dean said. "And can you pull our curtains closed again?"

Hermione nodded and said, "Thanks!" And pulled their curtains back together.

She knelt down by the foot of his bed and opened the trunk. She took out the first layer of stuff, and let out a gasp of delight. She pulled out a royal blue button-up. She placed the rest of the stuff back in the trunk and stood up.

Harry was surprised to hear Neville's voice from two beds over. "I have a tie that would go nicely with that."

He glanced around at their surprised faces. "What, you think I could sleep through all of that? Or is it that I might be able to match clothing?"

He got off the bed and selected a maroon tie with gold accents from a small pile at the left of his organized trunk.

Hermione smiled brightly. "That's perfect Nev! It really is best to match warmer colors with a blue toned shirt."

Neville beamed at her, proud of himself. Ron nodded at him, surprised but impressed.

"Perfect." Hermione said.

Harry did not think the outfit was perfect, he hardly ever dressed formal if not in school robes and was not used to it. But he had to admit that it was not awful.

He was so nervous, it would be so awkward, there would probably be fighting, he had no idea how he was supposed to talk casually to Draco, of all people, it would be a mess. He was dreading it, but also strangely excited.


	8. The Three Broomsticks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite five go to the Three Broomsticks. (Sorry I'm super bad at summaries.)

Classes that day went by much too fast for Harry’s liking. Before he knew it, he was in the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione, too nervous to eat more than a few mouthfuls of dinner.

He did his absolute best not to look at the Slytherin table. 𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜... 𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜... 𝐾𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒... 𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘... was running through his mind in a constant loop. 

Hermione kept patting his shoulder and reassuring him quietly, and Ron would not stop complaining that he did not want to go.

He somehow ended up in his dormitory who knows how long later, dazed and slightly confused.

He pulled on his shirt and jeans rather reluctantly, thinking them both a little too tight. He tied on his tie rather sloppily, his hands shaking. 

He came out into the common room and was greeted by clapping from Hermione and joking wolf-whistles from Ron. 

Hermione, upon seeing his poor excuse for a knot, sniffed and went over to re-tie it. Once she decided it was acceptable, she clapped her hands and smiled brightly. “Shall we?”

Hermione grabbed a small handbag and Harry gave her a few galleons to put in it for his drink. Ron just looked at her and grinned hopefully. She rolled her eyes at him irritatedly, but nodded. He grinned wider. 

They exited the castle, Harry wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. They walked with long strides down the hill, and apparated to the Three Broomsticks once they were outside of the Hogwarts boundaries. 

Ron opened the door and pleasantly warm air smelling of Butterbeer wafted over them. They stepped inside and Harry scanned the room, eyes landing on a table in the far left corner.

On Parkinson, and 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Draco and Pansy found a table in the corner. It seemed clean enough, and was one of the less rickety ones. 

They sat down in uneasy silence. Just then, the bell rang announcing the opening of the door, and Draco’s eyes shot to it instinctively. 

It was the trio, but Granger and Weasley seemed to fade into the background as his eyes landed on Harry. 

His hair was as messy as always, and his shirt was very unprofessionally untucked. Some old part of him wanted to make fun of him about it, but this uncovered part of him couldn’t help finding it just... 𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. And he couldn’t stop his eyes from raking down his body to his legs, which surprised him by being strong and sculpted underneath a pair of tighter than usual jeans. 

Pansy beamed and stood up to greet them. Draco just sat there, dumbfounded. Pansy smacked him in the arm and he shook his head. He stood up and put on a smile, glad he remembered to brush his teeth. 

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𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛’𝑠 𝑃𝐴𝑁𝑇𝑆 Draco looked good, his tall stature and trim form accentuated by his outfit, his pale skin standing out against the black and green. 

Then Draco 𝑆𝑀𝐼𝐿𝐸𝐷. His face transformed into something so happy and perfect, his straight and brilliantly white teeth shining, outlined by the soft pink lips that occupied many a dream of Harry’s.

Harry just stood there, gaping. Ron nudged him and whispered, “You’re drooling,” with a smirk on his face. 

Harry coughed, glared at Ron, and smiled back at Draco, staring into his eyes. 

“Earth to lovebirds!” Pansy sung.

Draco and Pansy sat back down and the trio followed their lead. 

They were sitting in awkward silence until Madam Rosemerta made her way over. “Would you like anything to drink?” She raised a questioning eyebrow at the five of them sitting at the same table, but didn’t say anything about it.

“We’ll take five Butterbeers?” Hermione said, looking at the group for objections.

“Actually I would like a Firewhiskey.” Draco said.

He got slightly defensive at Pansy’s raised eyebrow. “What! I’m eighteen! And Butterbeer is too sweet for me anyway.” Really he just needed to calm his nerves.

“You aren’t supposed to get drunk on school grounds!” Pansy said, teasing him.

“Well this isn’t school grounds, is it?” 

Pansy chuckled and nodded. “Then I would like a Firewhiskey too.” 

Madam Rosemerta nodded and walked away, heels clicking on the stone floor.

After several attempts to start conversation by Pansy and Hermione, minimal responses from Draco and Harry, and grunts from Ron, they dissolved into silence again. 

They were all quite relieved when Madam Rosemerta came back with their drinks on a tray. She set the three foaming mugs in front of the Gryffindors, and the two bottles in front of the Slytherins. 

They sipped in awkward quietness until the bell above the door rang once again and a group of three people walked in. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

It was a group of three seventh year Ravenclaws that Pansy recognized. Two boys she didn’t know the names of, and one girl that she did.

Iris.

Iris Damcott. A beautiful, intelligent Ravenclaw with long, thick, dark, 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 hair, large, chocolate eyes framed by thick lashes, perfectly smooth caramel skin, full lips... 

Tonight she was wearing a white floral blouse tucked into a denim miniskirt. Her hair was curled loosely, shining slightly in the light. The blouse was feminine and loose, but somehow still clung to every curve. The skirt was torturously short, showing off her long legs.

Harry started to scramble away from Draco at the sight of them. “Agh! It’s Josh and Chris and... I don’t know her name!” Draco said, annoyed; probably by Harry’s moving away from him.

“Wait! I know them! They’re cool! And her name is Iris.” Pansy said, still staring at her.

“Alright...” Draco said, still suspicious. 

The Ravenclaws found a table and sat down. 

“Why are you staring at them Pansy?” Draco said, smirking.

She flushed. “O-oh! No reason!” 

“No reason, hmm?” Hermione teased. 

“Do you like him?” Harry asked. Hermione looked between Harry and Pansy, as if she was pondering something.

“Who?” 

Draco dropped his voice down to a whisper. “The hot one! Josh!” 

“Josh? Oh.” She blushed again. She couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting back to the table of Ravenclaws. Hermione followed her eyes and raised an eyebrow at Pansy. Pansy shot her a panicked look so Hermione just took another sip of Butterbeer.

Draco had also saw her glance their way again, but misinterpreted it. “You should go talk to him!”

“What? No!”

“Yes!” Harry agreed. 

Draco, Harry, and even Ron teased her and tried to get her to go over there, glad for the easiness of it. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

They fell into comfortable conversation, tongues becoming looser with every sip of Firewhiskey and gulp of Butterbeer. 

Harry scooted closer to the blonde and brushed his hand against Draco’s. It was freezing! But that just made him want to warm them with his own. He intertwined their fingers.

Draco did not pull away. 

“Okay Pansy. That’s it. Go over and talk to him or I won’t help you in potions anymore!”

Pansy looked very uncomfortable. “He’s just not really my type!” She whisper-yelled.

Draco looked rather surprised. “You like Chris? I mean... not my type but okay—“

“DRACO!” Pansy burst out. This earned glances from the Ravenclaws. She lowered her voice down so only their table could hear. “I’m gay!”

Ron, Harry, and Draco gasped. Hermione just smiled at her. 𝐷𝑖𝑑 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤? 

“Aw Pans! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Draco said smiling.

Pansy just mumbled something he couldn’t hear and rubbed her thumb on the rim of her bottle.

“Why don’t you go talk to her!” Hermione encouraged. 

“Oh I don’t know...” Pansy mumbled, looking back at the table of Ravenclaws... Iris probably. Harry followed her gaze and found Iris staring back at Pansy. Iris stood up. She walked over. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

She’s walking over. 𝑆ℎ𝑒. 𝐼𝑠. 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠. 𝑀𝑒. Oh my God.

She was wearing sandal wedges that made her calves look amazing. They made pleasant thunks on the stone as she walked. 

She was getting closer and 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟 and she was still staring into my 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 and oh my 𝑔𝑜𝑠ℎ she’s 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 at me—

“Pansy, right?” She said. 𝐼𝑟𝑖𝑠 said. Her voice was clear and powerful and sweet all at the same time, and Pansy felt it caress her and the sweet-as-honey smoothness sent shivers down her spine.

“Uhm... yes?” She asked like it was a question. She cringed. “Yes. I am Pansy. And you are Iris, right?” 

“Yeah! Hey... would you like to take a walk with me?” 

𝑂ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑠ℎ 𝑜ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑠ℎ 𝑜ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑠ℎ!

“Yes! I would love that!” She stood up and brushed off her dress. She had just chosen a simple and flowy navy number and flats for the evening, and was now wishing she had chosen something a little more... fun. 

“See you guys in a bit then!” She said, barely able to control her excitement. She turned back to Iris and walked out the door with her, Ron wolf-whistling after her. 

They walked in silence until they got to the outlook over the Shrieking Shack. The twilight was beautiful, light enough to see but with an pleasantly eerie blue film coating everything.

“I have liked you for a while now.” Iris whispered, but it carried in the silence. 

“Me too.” Was all Pansy could get out. She turned to look at Iris, and up into her big beautiful eyes. Iris was normally a few inches shorter than Pansy, but her heels made her a bit taller than Pansy now. It made Pansy feel slightly uncomfortable and small. 

A cool wind swept over them and Iris shivered. Pansy stepped closer and put her arm around Iris to share heat. Delightful tingles spread from where they touched. 

It felt like where she was meant to be.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
𝔹𝕠𝕪𝕤’ ℙ𝕆𝕍

Draco was feeling rather tipsy now, he probably should not have drunk so much Firewhiskey. 

Harry could not stop looking at Draco. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol and Harry found it just adorable. 

Draco couldn’t stop looking at Harry, either. Harry just kept smiling and laughing, and he couldn’t help staring at the way his eyes and nose crinkled when he was amused. It was just so 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑒.

Hermione could tell that the pair wanted to be alone, so she whispered something to Ron that they couldn’t hear, and he nodded and stood up. 

“See you later, Harry!” Hermione said and Ron winked at him.

Draco looked after them until the door swung shut, then he couldn’t stand one more second of his mouth not on Harry’s.

He grabbed him by the tie and kissed him.

Harry kissed back instantly, clearly just as eager and impatient as Draco. He could taste the Firewhiskey on Draco, tingling on his tongue. 

It took a second before they realized that they couldn’t just have a full snogging session in the middle of the Three Broomsticks, even if it was deserted.

But Harry couldn’t bear to break away so he stood up while bending over, Draco following. He stumbled backwards toward the door, almost tripping over a chair. He fumbled for the knob, turned it hastily, pushed open the door with his back, and grabbed the frame above him for support, stepping blindly down the two steps. 

He kept backing up until he met another shop, sliding against the bricks until they found an alley and stepped inside, Draco pushing Harry against the wall.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

Pansy and Iris were having a great time, once the conversation started it didn’t stop, easily joking and talking about so many subjects.

They got colder and colder as the night went on, and Iris at least had a curfew she needed to be back by.

They decided to meet back up with their friends at the Three Broomsticks. They opened the door and found it completely deserted. 

“Josh and Chris must have gone back up to the castle.” Iris said, turning back to Pansy.

“Yeah, my friends must have too.”

They walked back out, when Pansy heard a moan from the alley across from them.

She looked at Iris, brows furrowed, to find the same expression across her face. They started walking towards it, both of them quite curious. 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐻𝑜𝑔𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒? 𝑊𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡?

They stopped at the entrance of the alley, quite disturbed by the startling image: Draco at Harry’s neck, hair uncharacteristically disheveled, Harry with his head back against the wall with an expression that Pansy did not wish to see again. 

Iris blushed and tugged at her sleeve, whispering, “Let’s just let them be!” But Pansy responded, “Go ahead, I need to tell them off.” Iris rolled her eyes at her, but let go and started back towards the castle.

“Ahem.” Pansy said sternly.

The boys startled and jumped away from each other, both beet red. Harry coughed and straightened his tie, re-buttoning his top button.

“Erm, hello Pansy.” Draco said in a voice that was huskier than normal, and that Pansy desperately wished she could unhear. 

“Drunken sex in an alley is not very becoming you know.” She said sternly.

“We weren’t—“ Harry said, but looked down embarrassed nonetheless. 

Draco ran his hands through his hands through his hair, trying to get it to lie flat again. 

“Well get back to the castle both of you.” Pansy said, turning away from them, and ran to catch up with Iris.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

Harry was rather happy with the events of the evening; their friend groups got along surprisingly well, Pansy talked to the girl she liked, and let’s just say he was not mad about what happened after, either.

After they had pulled themselves together, they meandered back up towards the castle, brushing shoulders and just talking like old friends. 

Hand in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to @TallGourami15 for beta-ing for me! They are the best and you should go check them out!


	9. The Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends go to the library and snuggle

Chapter Nine: The Library 

Over the next few weeks, the six of them became quite good friends. Hermione and Iris had bonded quite quickly, sharing book recommendations, studying techniques, and other things that Harry found quite boring.

However, they decided it was best to keep their friendship a secret; they all hated to imagine the rumors that would circulate, evil Death Eater’s son with the Golden Boy, etc. Because of this, they could only meet up in the evenings or in places they knew to be deserted. 

Draco and Harry tried to keep up the bickering facade in classes and in the corridors. They invented a little game of creating insults that meant other things, trying to get the other to break character and laugh.

Harry even got Draco to smirk and look at the ground once, and he would not let him hear the end of it. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
𝕀𝕣𝕚𝕤 ℙ𝕆𝕍

Iris was quite antsy, her relationship with Pansy didn’t need to be as secret as Draco and Harry’s, but Pansy didn’t want word spreading because her family was quite old fashioned and homophobic. Even if they could be accepting for once, Iris was half-blood, and Pansy was certain that her parents would never get over that. She was anxious to see her.

She had a book in her lap, but was looking forward unfocused, playing with and cleaning her nails with her others, fiddling and tapping. 

Her friend Penny was sitting next to her on the couch, and she looked up from her own book at Iris in annoyance. “Stop making that sound! I’m trying to read! It’s the climax of the book!” Then she scanned Iris’s expression, and the irritation faded from her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh I don’t know...” Iris said reluctantly. But Penny’s face was full of genuine concern, and while being more popular than Iris, she was known for being excellent at keeping secrets. “Well I’ve been seeing this person...”

“Ooh! Tell me all about them!” Penny said, her eyes lighting up as she snatched her bookmark from the coffee table and put it in her book, setting it down on the table to give Iris her full attention.

“Well they—she—“ She clarified. Penny’s eyebrows raised slightly at this, pleasantly surprised. “...is amazing. She is so hilarious and has such a sassy attitude and takes time to really get to know people, not to mention that she is goddamn 𝑔𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑜𝑢𝑠—“

“OH MY GOSH IRIS! What a catch!” Penny interrupted excitedly. “Then what’s the problem? And may I ask who?”

“Erm... Pansy Parkinson.” 

“Oh! She’s nice? I always got the kind of bully vibe from her...”

“Yeah she’s quite nice actually, once you get to know her, I think she’s just insecure, and was protecting Draco..."

“And the problem is that she doesn’t want word to get out that she’s into girls. My dads will be fine with it, and they probably already know to be honest, but her parents have it set in their minds that she is going to marry a pureblood Slytherin man from a respectable family. I bet they have it in their homophobic little brains that she will marry Draco, but he’s gay too, so like—where is their gaydar?” She clapped her hand over her mouth at this last statement. “Oops! I wasn’t supposed to tell you that...”

Penny just laughed. “It’s okay I think we all already knew. Kind of a shame though... he’s quite a looker... and I’m really sorry, it must be hard to not be able to see her very much.”

“Exactly.” Iris said gloomily.

“Why don’t you invite them to study with you? The library is probably going to be empty, there aren’t any tests coming up.”

“Ooh! Yes! Thank you!” She wordlessly summoned parchment, a quill, and an inkwell from a table across the room. 

They floated over and landed on the coffee table. She wrote out a letter to Pansy and sealed it. “Can I use Hermes? I don’t want to go all the way to the owlry.”

“Sure!” She jumped up and disappeared down the spiral staircase in the middle of the room. Iris barely had time to read another paragraph of her book before Penny came bounding back up the stairs surprisingly soon, a chipper looking tawny owl perched on her sleeve. 

Iris tied the letter to his foot and said “Slytherin common room, Pansy Parkinson,” while looking him directly in the eyes. He hooted in understanding and flew out of an open window across from them. 

Penny sat back down on the couch and took the bookmark out of her book, her right thumb finding her way to her mouth to tap against her two front teeth as her eyes flicked across the page, a habit she had when she was focused. 

Iris tried to focus back on her book as well, but she was simply too anxious for Pansy’s response to register the plot at all, the words blurring on the page. 

Hermes swooped in a few minutes later, and Iris hopped off the couch instantly and ran over to him. She untied the letter and read it:

𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆! 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖! 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚, 𝑹𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐? 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅! 

Iris grinned. She would be seeing Pansy so soon! And she would love to see Hermione too, she was super smart and witty, and agreed with all of her opinions on books. And she could count on her to make the knuckleheads by the names of Harry and Ron come, as they try to avoid the library at all costs.

She walked back over to Penny. “She said she would come!”

“That’s great!” Penny said, beaming.

Iris summoned two more sheets of parchment and wrote a response to Pansy:

𝒀𝒂𝒚! 𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆! 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓! 𝑺𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒏?

On the second sheet, she wrote an invitation to Hermione. She tied both letters to Hermes, feeling slightly bad about the extra weight, but he flew up a few inches without any difficulty. She told him the instructions and watched him fly back out of the window. 

She grabbed her book bag from the ground and said goodbye to Penny, who waved back, but seemed unable to take her eyes off her book.

She walked out of the door and skipped down towards the library.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

The trio was now sitting in their common room chatting, when a tawny owl swooped in through an open window and landed on the side table next to Hermione. She untied the letter and gave him a pat on the head, which earned an appreciative hoot, before he flew back out of the window.

Hermione flipped it over. “It’s addressed to me from Iris!” She unfolded the letter and read aloud, “I convinced Pansy and Draco to come with me to the library to study! You three should meet us there!”

She smiled down at the letter, set it down on the table, and stood up. 

“Where are you going Mione?” Ron asked. 

“To go meet them of course!” 

Ron groaned and mumbled something about how he would rather not do any more studying. Harry on the other hand was quite eager to see Draco again, it was torture to see him across the classroom or on the other side of the Great Hall and not be able to talk to him, and their dates and get-togethers with all of them were much too few and far between.

Harry stood up and grabbed Ron’s arm, yanking him off the couch. Ron scowled and shook his arm off, but walked a few steps toward Hermione and intertwined their fingers. “Let’s get on with it then.” He said begrudgingly. 

They exited the common room and headed towards the library. 

They arrived at the library to find Draco, Pansy, and Iris already there. “We’ve been waiting for you!” Pansy said good-naturedly. 

“Sorry, I had a hard time dragging these twats down here.” Hermione replied, laughing. 

Ron rolled his eyes at her but shrugged as if to suggest she was not wrong. 

They found a group of three loveseats in a circle with a table in the center behind a bunch of shelves in the far corner, where they thought no one would find them.

Ron plopped down on a loveseat and slammed his bag on the table, yanking out individual sheets of wrinkled parchment and his school books like they have wronged him. 

Hermione smirked affectionately at him and said, “I’ll look over it when you’re done.”

He grinned at her stupidity and fumbled around in his bag for a quill and ink. 

She, Iris, and Draco went to browse the bookshelves, as they had already done their homework. 

Harry watched as Draco scanned the shelf, his long fingers trailing across the spines and his face adorning a concentrated expression as he read the titles. 

“What are you staring at, Harry?” Ron said, sniggering. 

Harry coughed, pulled his back into his lap, and looked inside, hiding his face. “Nothing.”

Ron continued to chuckle as he dipped his quill in his ink and wrote his name sloppily on the paper. Harry found his potions book, slid it out of his bag, and began to read the page on the effects of different obscure ingredients. 

Iris found her book first, and plopped down on the couch next to Pansy, and rested her head on her lap as if it was a pillow. Pansy read the title and raised a taunting eyebrow, and Iris scowled up at her defensively. “What!? This author is actually really good! Romance is quite good literature sometimes!” Pansy smirked down at her as if to say ‘sure,’ and Iris rolled her eyes and opened the book to the first page.

Hermione plucked an old looking book from the shelf with a triumphant look. She practically marched over to Ron and sat down next to him, blowing off the dust and opening the faded cover hungrily. 

Draco found his book last, sliding a sleek black book from the shelf. He cracked it open to the middle, his pale finger following the words he was reading for a few lines, brows furrowed in concentration, until he apparently decided it was acceptable and snapped it shut, striding over to the loveseat Harry was occupying, and sitting next to him.

They were touching everywhere from their shoulders to their hips, where Draco’s legs angled away so he could cross them. Harry felt flustered that they were so close so naturally, that is was completely normal for them to touch like friends, like lovers. After a few seconds though, he got over the shock of the realization and relaxed, and began to feel warm and fuzzy. He snuggled closer, and Draco let out a small smile. 

Harry decided that he could get his homework done later, that procrastinating one more day couldn’t hurt. He rested his head on Draco’s shoulder, and started to absentmindedly make little circles with his thumb on the dip of Draco’s hand where the base of his thumb and wrist meet.

Draco let go of his book and let his palm lay open-faced on his thigh. Harry moved his thumb up and down his wrist in small strokes, and without really meaning to, his strokes got higher and higher, brushing the skin just under the cuff of his sleeve, and Draco jerked away as if he had been burned.

“What, am I just that hot?” Harry said, winking.

But Draco’s face stayed solemn, not even a flicker of amusement.

“Wha-oh. Draco!” Harry looked at Draco, concern covering his entire face. 

Draco had scooted a few inches away, an ashamed expression taking over his features, effecting his posture.

“Oh Draco! You don’t need to feel bad about it!

Harry reached over and grasped Draco’s arm, unbuttoned his cuff and rolled up the sleeve, exposing his forearm, and the Dark Mark on it. Although Draco flinched away, he didn’t yank his arm out of Harry’s grip.

Harry ran his finger along the faded black of the skull and the snake, Draco shaking slightly at his touch. His eyebrows were drawn together, afraid of being judged, of being pushed away because of the sins of his past. 

Harry frowned slightly, still rubbing the mark with his thumb, thinking. But then he smiled softly, and looked over at Draco, and when their eyes met, his entire face broke into an accepting grin.

“It’s alright Draco. I know it wasn’t your choice.” He smirked. “And I don’t mind guys with tattoos, either.” 

Draco chuckled quietly at that, and scooted back over to Harry. “Thanks.” Draco said softly. Harry rested his head on Draco’s shoulder, and he rested his head on Harry’s. They sat like that for a few minutes, fingers intertwined, but got simply too drowsy to stay upright for much longer.

Pansy yawned loudly, which caused Draco and Harry to look over, slightly surprised that they weren’t alone. But her yawn caused a chain reaction, and soon Ron was yawning enormously, and everyone shifted to get comfier.

Draco eased out from under Harry gently, and shifted so he was laying horizontally on the loveseat, his head resting on the armrest as a pillow. Harry laid down next to him, snuggling in close and laying his head on Draco’s chest. 

He felt so comfortable with his arms wrapped around his ferret, his head resting on the chest of the person he couldn’t imagine himself not being with, listening to his steady heartbeat. It wasn’t long before Harry felt himself drifting off to sleep...

And being jarred awake by a harsh voice and menacing sniggers.

“Well well well! What do we have here...”


	10. Exposed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bup bo spagettios, our favorite peeps got busted! What are they going to do?

Harry sat up fast, scrambling away from Draco, but the damage was done. 

“The Chosen One and the Malfoy Heir, gay and together? I wonder what the whole school will say about that...” The leader of the group sneered at them.

“No please! Don’t tell anyone!” Draco pleaded. The leader, a seventh year Slytherin that looked much too big to be seventeen, just ignored him and shifted his gaze to Pansy and Iris.

“And miss Parkinson, I bet your mummy would be 𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑑 to see you with this... 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙.“ Pansy’s expression turned panicked.

“Please.” Iris pleaded. 

“We’ll see.” The Slytherin taunted, sneering. He turned around and headed out of the library, his cronies in tow. 

Harry turned to meet Draco’s worried gaze. “What are we going to do?”

Draco’s expression turned determined and enduring. “We can’t let them use it against us.”

Harry was confused for a moment, but then understood. “Are you sure?”

Draco nodded.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
𝕀𝕣𝕚𝕤 ℙ𝕆𝕍

They pulled themselves together and dashed up to their according dormitories to get ready. 

She and Pansy had agreed to just pretend that their relationship had always been happening, and that was completely natural. They hoped that after whatever Draco and Harry planned to do occurred, everyone wouldn’t notice them, or at least think that it was small news compared to the boys’ shocking relationship.

She walked down to the Great Hall with Penny, eyebrows drawn together in nervousness, and palms slippery with sweat. She had no idea what Draco and Harry had planned, and she was scared it would not go well.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Penny asked good-naturedly. 

“Oh nothing! I’m just great!” Iris squeaked.

Penny looked at her suspiciously, but her attention was diverted by a group of Hufflepuffs waving to her. “Can I go say hi?” 

“Oh! Yeah, sure!” Iris said, trying to make her voice sound jovial. Penny grinned at her and skipped off to join her friends.

Iris wiped her hands on her robes and speed-walked the rest of the way to the Hall. She found a seat facing the isle between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw isles, sitting down and grabbing two slices of toast.

Five minutes later, the Hall was packed of students eating, laughing, and yelling; the usual. Iris looked over at the Slytherin table, her eyes finding Draco and following his gaze, right over to Harry. Draco gave a small nod. 

“Ay Potter!” He yelled across the Hall, everyone going completely silent. Harry looked away from his ‘conversation’ with Ron, and scowled. 

“What is it Malfoy, sad that your daddy’s in prison?” Draco stood up.

“Well at least my dad’s still alive! How many dads have you lost? Let me count!”  
He ticked them off on his fingers dramatically. “Your actual dad, too weak to even fight long enough to let his family escape, that shame-of-the-family madman Sirius Black, lunatic Dumb-as-a-door himself, then that werewolf Lupin!”

Iris could have sworn actual hurt flashed across Harry’s face, and he jumped away from the table in anger. 𝑊𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑘? Iris thought to herself. 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑠ℎ...

For just a second, regret crossed Draco’s face, and Pansy pinched his arm. “Nice one Draco!” Pansy said, her voice cruel in a way Iris had never heard it. Draco molded his face into a sneer again. “They all died protecting YOU! Why can’t you fight your own battles, huh? Too weak? I wonder why they put you in Gryffindor. Such. A. Chicken.”

Harry glared at him and stomped over, Draco striding over to meet him in the middle. “I can fight my own battles!” Harry spat, making his hands into fists. Draco grabbed his tie and pulled him an inch away from his face, still scowling. 

Professor McGonagall stood up and raised her hand, about to stop them, when Draco pulled Harry the rest of the way, and kissed him.

The entire Hall erupted in gasps and shouts. They were still kissing aggressively, clearly wanting to put on a show. Luna started clapping, and Ginny wolf-whistled loudly. They broke apart, gasping. They grinned and leaned their foreheads against the other’s, arms encircling each other’s waists. 

A giant, jolly laugh erupted from the end of the staff table, dishes shaking as Hagrid slammed his dustbin-sized hand into the table as he wheezed. “Ya owe me three galleons, Horace!” He shouted down the table at Slughorn. 

“No, no, Rubeus! It’s the first week of October, not the second!” McGonagall snipped. “Horace owes 𝑚𝑒 the three galleons!” Slughorn grumbled and passed the coins down the table towards her, Hagrid screwing up his face looking slightly confused, counting off the days on his fingers. Iris saw Professor Sprout high-five Professor Sinistra. 

Giggles swept across the Hall at the ridiculousness of that whole exchange, the chattering over this development deafening. 

Through the chaos, Iris spotted Draco and Harry sneaking out of the Hall. 

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
𝔹𝕠𝕪𝕤 ℙ𝕆𝕍

They dashed out of the hall, hand in hand as they turned corridor after corridor. Once they decided they had gone far enough, they slid down against the wall, collapsing from relief and exhaustion. 

“They were betting on us!?” Harry chuckled.

“I guess so!” Draco laughed, but then his face turned solemn. “I’m sorry I had to say all of that stuff, Harry.”

Harry grimaced. “It’s alright. We had agreed that it would be most believable, and I know you don’t really mean it, it’s just those wounds are still a little fresh, you know?”

“Yeah.” Draco said, looking down at his knees. Harry reached over and turned his chin to look in his eyes, and smiled softly. 

“Really. It’s alright.” Draco smiled back.

“After classes today, want to meet me by the lake?”

“Sure.”

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄  
ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖 ℙ𝕆𝕍

The Great Hall was chaos, people shouting and chattering, houses mixing in a mass of people; it was hard to hear anything over the ruckus. 

Hermione nudged Ron’s shoulder and he nodded. They pushed their way to the entrance, Ron using his two inch advantage on everyone to signal to Iris and Pansy. 

The four of them made their way to an empty classroom, breathing a sigh of relief to be out of the crowd. 

“That went... well?” Pansy said. 

Hermione laughed. “Yeah, I guess!”

“Do you think they’ll even hold classes today?” Ron said hopefully.

“Of course! They can’t just cancel classes because of two students!” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. 

Just then, the bell rang announcing five minutes before first class, and they could hear the muffled sounds of everyone in the Hall scrambling to grab their stuff and get to class. 

“We should probably go too.” Pansy said.

“See you guys later!” Iris said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and slipping out the door. 

Pansy followed, and that left Hermione and Ron. 

“We have Charms first, and Flitwick’s classroom is just across the hall.” Hermione said. 

She reached over and intertwined their fingers, grabbing her bag in her left hand. Ron grinned at her and grabbed his. 

“I’m glad Harry’s happy.” Hermione said.

“Yeah.” Ron rubbed his thumb on hers and let go to encircle her waist with his arm. Hermione mirrored the action and smiled, and they walked across the hall together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short! I just wanted everything else to be in the last chapter!


	11. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of our beautiful story 😊

ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

Pansy’s first two classes of the day went by too fast for her liking, and before she knew it, she was walking into the Great Hall for lunch. Draco was technically with her, but for all the words he said he could have just as well not been.

She scanned the Ravenclaw table and found Iris sitting next to a blonde who was chattering profusely at her. Pansy caught Iris’s eye and she said something to the blonde, stood up, and walked over.

“Hey Pans! What’s up?” Iris said cheerfully.

“I think that you should come sit with me at the Slytherin table.”

“What!? Is that even allowed?” Iris said incredulously.

“Well no one has really done it before, but I bet the professors would be fine with it, they’re always raving about house unity and stuff... you know?”

Iris looked suspicious but nodded. “Actually, why don’t we all sit together at the Gryffindor table? That way I’m not the only one at the wrong table.”

“Sure!” Pansy said, trying to sound excited, but her brow was creased.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well it’s just my parents. I’m sure a lot of owls will be going home tonight with news, and word will travel. My mom is a hopeless gossip; she will no doubt ask all the other parents if I made any progress with Draco, and when she hears—I don’t know. It’s fine. I’m an adult anyway, I can just move out.”

“Maybe—after school ends you know—we could... find a place... together?”

“Oh! Iris really!? I would love to!” Pansy said, beaming.

They grinned at each other for a long while before Draco tapped her shoulder.

“Um, Pansy? Hello?”

“What? Draco? When did you get here?”

“This whole time? I never left...”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was trying to give you space... let you two have your moment?”

Pansy looked very confused, but shook her head and said, “Well then, off to the Gryffindor table?”

They walked over and sat down, Harry, Ron, and Hermione already being there.

Ron and Hermione were on one side, and from left to right on the other was Iris, Pansy, Draco, and Harry. As the hall filled and people found seats closer and closer to the six of them, they began to get more nervous.

Then there was a large whoop quite close to them, and Dean and Seamus plopped down next to Ron.

“Hey! It’s the whole gang! How are you guys?” Seamus said cheerfully, looking at Iris, Pansy, and Draco.

“Erm, good I guess, you?” Draco said awkwardly.

“Good, good.”

Dean motioned with his head to Pansy. “I’m doing pretty well!” Pansy said cheerfully.

“And I don’t believe we’ve met!” Dean said good-naturedly to Iris.

“My name’s Iris. Nice to meet you!” Iris said shyly but kindly.

The boys smiled at her. Seamus cleared his throat. “So... are you guys, uh, nice now?” Dean gave him a reproving look, but Draco answered.

“Yeah, I guess. Sorry about—before.”

“You’re all good.” Dean said, wrapping his arm around Seamus’s shoulders.

A dreamy voice from behind them sang, “Oh hi Iris! Are we allowed to sit here now?”

Pansy turned around to see Loony—Luna Lovegood arm-in-arm with the Weaslette—Ginny that is.

“Why not?” Iris said, smiling at her. Ginny and Luna sat down on Iris’s left.

The ten of them gorged themselves on sandwiches, fruit, and scrumptious chocolate chip cookies, having a surprisingly great time. A few minutes into their conversation, Neville seemed to get over his fear of Draco and scooted over.

He chatted with them for a few minutes before asking timidly, “Hey, can I bring my girlfriend over?”

“Girlfriend? Neville that’s awesome! Go ahead!” Dean said encouragingly. This was followed by cheers from the rest of the group, excited to have another member of their wonderful group.

Neville walked over to the Hufflepuff table and tapped a curly-haired girl with pigtails on the shoulder. He said something to her that Pansy couldn’t make out and she whispered something to her friends, who giggled, and stood up. They walked around the table and sat down next to Dean.

Pansy glanced at the staff table, and caught Professor McGonagall looking at the twelve of them and smiling.

They all had so much fun that lunch seemed to fly by; the bell ringing much too soon. They said their goodbyes and rushed off to their classes, surprised and delighted that they all got along so well.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕆𝕍

Classes went by far too slow for Harry. He was anxious to see Draco and all of his other friends; that afternoon's lunch was the most fun he had had in ages, and he couldn’t wait to experience that again.

He shared his last class of the day with Ron and Hermione, and as they were walking out of the classroom, Ron asked, “You got any plans tonight?”

Hermione murmured something that sounded suspiciously like, “𝐷𝑜 you ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒...”

“Actually yeah, Draco asked me to meet him at the Lake after dinner.”

“Would you mind if everyone came along?” Hermione asked hopefully.

“Sure, why not?”

“Excellent!”

The three of them walked down to the Great Hall and found seats at the Gryffindor table. Everyone joined them as if they had always been doing so, and Harry shared the plan.

They finished their delicious dinner of roast beef and potatoes, and walked onto the grounds as a group. Hermione, Iris, and Luna worked together on a complex spell transfiguring patches of grass into six blankets.

The couples found spots spread out on the grass, facing the lake and the stunning sunset.

Draco and Harry sat down and adjusted until they were most comfortable, leaning against each other and gazing out at the beautiful colors.

“Pretty sunset, huh?” Draco said, but he was looking at Harry.

“Yeah. Beautiful.” But really the most beautiful thing was the person next to him, Harry thought, staring into his eyes.

Draco pulled Harry close and kissed him. It was soft and slow, sweet and full of emotion. It somehow meant so much more than their other kisses; they somehow conveyed a million words with one beautiful kiss.

They broke apart, and looked at each other like they couldn’t look away. Looking into the other’s eyes, it seemed like the moment would last forever.

“I love you, Draco.” Harry said, smiling like he never had before. Draco smiled back at him.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEE! I can't believe it's over! Thank you to everyone who has been reading, giving kudos, and commenting, it means so much!!!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic! Please tell me if you liked it! I would love any suggestions for the rest of it and any corrections on mistakes. Thank you! I adore comments and would like to here from you all! Also thank you to my awesome friend @TallGourami15 for editing and helping me come up with ideas!


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